Machine for making artificial leaves



G. G.'FOCKE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING ARTIFICIAL LEAVES. I

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 8, I913.

1,401,062. Patented Dec. 20, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

G. G. FOCKE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING ARTIFICIAL LEAVES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 8 I913.

Patented Dec. 20, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

e. e. FOCKE. MACHINE FOR MAKING ARTIFICIAL LEAVES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 8, I913- 1,4;O1-,O62 Patented Dec. '20, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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specification of Letters Patent. Patented 20, 1 921.

Application filed May 8, 1913. Serial no. 766,302,

(GRANTED UNDER THE IEIROVISIQNS THE ACT OF To all whom it may concern r Be it known that l, Gnons GUsrAv Foonn, merchant, a subject of the King of Saxony, residing at 10b Residenzstrasse, Dresden Blasewitz, Kingdom of Saxony, Germany, have invented. certain new and useful limprovements in Machines for Making Artificial Leaves, 0i": which the iollowingis a specification.

The present invention relates to machines for making artificial leaves, of the kind as has been patented by my United States Letters Patent 1,026,387. The present machine likewise is a machine in which in a continuous operation an endless wire, unwound from a bundle is covered with glue, an artificial leaf is pasted thereto, whereupon the wire with the heat is carried into an embossing device which forms the leaf and is finally out up into individual leafed stalks.

recording to the present invention the wire is guided through the machine by means of a star-shaped "feeding or turning body, which unwinds the wire from the bundle and draws it in the shape of a peri meter oi a polygon over its periphery, or between the supporting ends of its'several radiating arms. Each tangential piece of wire between two arms will make one stem oi a, leaf, which is first covered with glue, whereupon the leaf is pasted to it, and the wire .with the said leaf is passed through the embossing device and finally severed. The devices required for these operations are stationarily arranged on the periphery oi' the feed body. By such means the wire is kept taut, its tendency to bend or twist is suppressed and lastly a very practical construction of the machine is obtained.

Separate means may be provided for holding and drawing the wire and separate means for severing it. However, both these means may also be combined, by providing shears on the radiating arms,'in the open, wedge-shaped mouths of which the wire will catch itself, whereupon, when the said mouths are subsequently closed afterthe operation'has been completed, the'wire will be severed. If these shears are made radially adjustable, the length ofthe stem'may. be

easily varied. Qf course, in this casealso the stationary devicesmust be made radlally adjustable relatively to the center of the star. y

With regard to the several devices the MARCH 1921,41 g 1., 1313.3-

present invention also embodies an improve ment in so far as it concerns the device for mechanically applying the glue to the wire. According to the presentinvention the wire is drawn across the iaceot a disk receiving the glue from a tank, so that when thesaid disk revolves different points of the circumferential face of said diskfcarrying the glue, can approach diiierent points of the advancing wire.

A machine of this kind is exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is-a side elevation, Fig. 2 a plan, and Fi 3 a front elevation. The parts which are of particular importance for the comprehension of the present invention are shown in part sections in Figs. i to 6. Figs. 1} and 6 correspond to the front elevation Fig. 3, while Fig. 5 corr'espondstothe plan'in Fig. 2. Figs. 7,8, 9 are longitudinal, transverse section and plan respectively of the gluing device. Fig. 10 is a vertical section through the arrangement carrying the pile of leaves.

In the bracket 1 of the body of the machine is fitted a stationary pivot 2, on which the star-shaped ieed body is rotatably and vertically adjustably .fitted. This feedingbody consists of a disk 8 and a ratchet wheel 4 rigidly attached to the undersideof said disk 3, and rests ona springfij. Between the spring 5 and the disk 3 withtheratchet wheel i is fitted the eye of a lever 6, which engages with a pawl 7, in the wheel 4:. In aslot in the said leve1 6 engages the pin 8 of a rod 9 which is transverselydisplaceable in the body of the machine, at the otherzend of which a slotted lever 10 engages. On its spindle 11 is fitted attherearthe lever '12, which is eouplediby the rod l3rtopthe crank 14. on the driving shaft 15.. Bymeans of this gearing the feeder will be advanced by a. certain angle at each revolution of the driving shaft 15. The feeder is locked during the intervals by the spring pawl1 16=engaging in the notches ,ofdisk 3. a

On th disk rails l'l-are radially arranged. Beyond their. ends project the jaws of shears, whichsserve both-togrip the stem wire and to sever the same. The one leg 18 of these shears isrigidly attachedtothe rail 17. The second leg of the shears 19 is pivoted on a pin 20 similar to .an ordinary scissors. A spring 21 tends to hold, the jaws of the shears open, by raising the rearend of leg 19. This leg abuts, against the head oFricE- stroke.

and the central axis of the feed and there with the length of the who between tw jaws.

Another means for obtainingthis purpose consistsinthe radial adjustment of the rails 17 for which purpose a, number of screw holes 22 arefprovided in these rails, for optional use. Instead of these rows of holes longitudinal slots may be employed. For varying the length of the stemthe number of shear carriersmay be varied, but then also the amount of feed and the angle of feed must be varied. V

The wire comes at 24 from a reel not shown and runs over the gluing attachment hereafter described to the jaws of the shears. Under the pull producedby the turning of the feeder the wire 23 will pass at 25 into the jawsiof a shears and will thereupon span in aitangential direction from jaw to jaw, thereby forming a polygon. Each side of this polygon will give one stem of a leaf. I

: The first operation, now, is to apply th glue'tothe wire. This isdone while the wire isproceeding to the feeder and before it is gripped in the jaws, during the intermittent advance of the feeder. On a bracket 26 of the body of the machine is arranged the glue.

tank 27 which is fitted with its prismatic foot 28 into a dovetail roove of the carrier and may be secured by means of the screw 29. ln'this tank, which has-an inclined bottom a thin. disk 31 revolves with its spindle 30, this disk being transverse to the advancing wire 23. The wire is guided over the periphery of the disk 31, passing between this periphery and the finger for which finger a guide-roller or similar equivalent .means may be substituted.

Both the wire and the disk move, the disk being transversely revolved by gearings later and a toothed flange 37 which is-fitte d to the "underside of disk 3 outside of the ratchet wheel 4. For reason of the hereinafter described sinking of the feeder during its inoperative intervals, the outer bearing 38 of shaft swivels on the disk'shaft 30, which itencircles with an eye 39,-while the inner bearing .40 is slidable in a guide lO' and is raised from below. by means of a spring act ing' againstthis bearing.

During the intermittent advance of the feeder the piece of wire held between each two shears passes over the pile of leaves. lChis pile is in a pocket 42 carriedby the bracket ll of the machine body, in which pocket the leaves 43ers piled one over the other. In this pocket the leaves are raised by means of a plunger 45 forced upward by means of weights 44L. Tongues 46, projects ing slightly into the pocket and over the edge of the uppermost leaf prevent the leaves from being forced out of the pocket. When the feeder sinks, what is effected by means hereinafter described, the glued wire will be pressed against the uppermost leaf. lVhen the feeder rises again the leaf will adhere to the jwireand pass the tongues edwhereupon it will advance with the wire when the feeder advances.

, By such means the wire sections having each a leaf glued to them enter into the embossing attachment supported on the main body of themachine, where the leaf is given by'engraved dies a natural appearance. d7

is the bottom die, 48 the upper die which slides with its shank 49 in guide 50 and is aised and lowered by means of connecting rod 51 and crank 52. ll hen the feeder advances the wires and leaves must be able to pass freely between the top and bottom nies. while during the embossing operation the leaf must be pressed down on to and into the bottom die. For this reason the feeder is so arranged, that it can be lowered on its shaft 2, as has been repeatedly hcreinbefore men-' tioned. This lowering ofthe feeder is ef fected when the top die 4L8 moves down, by

means of the presser-53, which is coupledby HIH1'54: with the shank 4L9 of the top die. The presserwhich thus moves downward togetherwith the top die, strikes againstone of the rails 17 and will thereby press down the feeder compressing the springh. Fig-.6 showst-he feeder pressed down. The two levelsthe upper level in which the feeder ill) revolves, and thelower level, intowhich it i is depressed when stationaryare indicated.

by dot-and-dashlines ll and 11- 11.

The downwardstroke of the die shank 4:9

is furthermore utilized for. severing the wire and separating the finlshed leaves. i For this maintaining the said Wire upon the Periph-V cry of said feeder during the revolution thereof.

2. In a machine for making artificial leaves, a feeder for feeding wire through said machine, said feeder having means for moving said wire through said machine in a non-rectilinear path, and means for severing said wire at the place of change of direction of movement thereof.

3. In a machine for making artificial leaves, a feeder for the wire consisting of 'a revolving, regular polygon, and means for gripping the wire to the perimeter of said polygon, the side of said polygon being equal to the length of the Wire required for a sin le leaf.

4;. n a machine for making artificial leaves, a feeder comprising a number of arms projecting radially from a common pivoted center, means on said arms for gripping and holding the wire fed through said machine, as saidfeeder revolves, said means being adjustable along the length of said radial arms, whereby the length of the wire held between said means on adjacent radial arms can be varied.

5. In a machine for making artificial leaves, a revolving feeder, comprising a plurality of radial arms, projecting from a common pivoted center, shears attached to said radial arms, means for feeding the wire to be passed through said machine to these shears, to be held and moved by said shears as the feeder revolves, and means for actuating said shears to sever the wire, at a predetermined point in the path of said wire.

6. In a machine for making artificial leaves, a revolving feeder, comprising a plurality of radial arms radiated from a common pivoted center, shears on said radial arms adapted to hold and move the wire as the feeder is revolved, and means for adjusting said shears radially on said arms.

7. In a machine for making artificial leaves, a revolving feeder, comprising a plurality of radial arms radiated from a common pivoted center, shears on said radial arms adapted to hold and move the wire as the feeder is revolved, and means for regulating the angle of opening of the jaws of said shears.

8. In a machinev for making artificial leaves, means for holding a pile of leaves to be embossed, means for feeding wire through said machine, said wire being fed through a path adjacent at a given part thereof to said pile of leaves, and means for intermittently moving the said wire at the said ad jacent point of its path, transverse to the said path, and upon thejoutermost leaf of the said pile of leaves.

9. In a machine for making artificial leaves, means for holding a pile of leaves, means forforcing said pile of leaves upward, stops for preventing said pile lof leaves from being forced beyond a predetermined point, a feeder for moving Wire through said machine, said wire passing at one point of its path near to and above said pile of leaves, and means for intermittently lowering said feeder and said wire upon the uppermost of said pile of leaves, and means for gluing the wire lowered upon said pile of leaves, before the lowering thereof, said feeder being returned to its initial position after the lowering thereof, whereby the said glued Wire carries with it the uppermost of said pile of leaves.

10. In a machine for making artificial leaves, a glue receptacle,a revolving disk GEORG GUSTAV rocks.

Witnesses GUsTAv MiiLLnR, Or'ro Wonrr. 

